Forms of censorship in Italy in the second half of the twentieth century

Abstract

This article analyzes the evolution of censorship in Italy after the Second World War, through the study of the legislation produced between 1943 and 2017. Particular attention will be given to the years from 1948 to 1962, a period characterized by greater continuity in the censorship action compared to the previous fascist regime. Afterwards, starting from the approval of the law n. 161/1962, the censorship action slowly changes sign. The end of the most acute phase of the Cold War, together with the advent of mass cultural consumption, favor a different use of censorship by the Christian Democrats. On the one hand, there is a relaxation of the repressive action; on the other, censorship becomes a piece of a more ambitious cultural policy. Starting in the 1960s, the DC will thus be able to exploit the modernization of cultural consumption while maintaining a relationship with the more traditional Catholic message, in a line of continuity with a vision of culture in a pedagogical and moralizing key.